Manipulation
by Insert Clever Potter Name Here
Summary: Being a Metamorphmagus has a price, and she's learning it the hard way. One-Shot Complete Rated M for abuse


_Based on a Tumblr post. Harry Potter is not mine(but we knew that)_

 _It'll be just a one shot- possibly an idea to expand on later_

* * *

"I don't like him." Ted announced, barely five minutes after Tristan had left. Andromeda sat down slowly on the couch, watching Ted turn on Tonks.

"Why not?" Tonks demanded. "He's kind, and nice, and he was nice to you-"

"If that's all he has going for him, that's disappointing." Andromeda remarked. "He doesn't work, he has those piercings-"

"An eyebrow piercing, nothing more! I happen to remember you had a nose piercing when I was a child! And he doesn't need to work, he's got family money, I don't see why you'd care anyway-"

"I think he's using you." Ted said simply.

"You think what?" Tonks demanded. "Mum, are you going to let him say this-?"

Andromeda nodded. "I agree with your father. I mean, look at you, Nymphadora." She said, gesturing to Tonks. Tonks ran a hand through her blonde hair "Your hair is blonde. I've rarely seen it such a color-"

"He likes it." Tonks said quietly.

"There!" Ted exclaimed, pointing at her. "He likes it. Shouldn't he like however you choose to look?"

"I-" Tonks stuttered. "He wants me to move in with him."

"After only a few days?" Andromeda asked, her mouth dropping in shock. "That's nonsense."

"It's closer to the Ministry." Tonks said. "It'd be easier-"

"You're a witch. The Ministry is accessible from anywhere." Ted said, crossing his arms. "I don't want you moving in with him."

"I'm not a child." Tonks said, defensive. Her hair was slowly shifting to red as she stood facing her father.

"You're barely an adult." Ted responded.

"I'm going to be an Auror."

"And?" Andromeda asked. "How will that help you against his type?"

Tonks spun on Andromeda now. "You don't know him! You barely spoke a word to him!"

"I spoke enough to know I don't like him."

"You can't control me forever, you know." Tonks said. "I could move out, and in with him, and you'd have no control over me."

"Is that what you think? That we're trying to control you?" Andromeda asked, finally standing and drawing herself to her full height. "If that's what you believe, then go to him. We'll step back, and allow you to learn for yourself."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Tristan asked, his eyes wandering to her still-red hair. "Red hair?" He asked.

"I- I had a fight with my parents." She said, gesturing to the bag next to her. "I'm sorry." She added, concentrating to shift her hair to blonde once more.

Tristan smiled, grabbing her bag and leading her inside. "Do you have training today?" He asked.

"No."

"Good. We can get settled."

* * *

She lived there for only ten days before she began to realise what her parents had been saying. The first day had been the fight with her parents, after which she hadn't spoken to them or sent a letter.

"I think you'd look better with brown hair today." Tristan commented on the second day as she was getting dressed for training. She complied, by simply dropping her morph to have her natural shade of mousy brown. "No, I still think it's too light." Tristan commented. "And I like the way you had yourself before- _smaller_."

She looked down at herself. She was average height usually- and height wasn't something she ever changed. She hadn't realised she had changed her weight- but if he preferred it...

"You know I don't like the pink hair." Tristan commented on the third day, when she got home from training with a smile and pink hair. The pink hair and her smile faded quickly.

"You'll have to hide those." Tristan commented on the fourth morning, gesturing the the bruises on her arms that he had 'never meant to leave'. She complied, keeping her hair the dark brown he still favoured.

It was day five that Mad-Eye began to look at her suspiciously.

It was day six when he gave her a black eye 'accidentally', leaving her to do another day of full body morphing. It was day six that Mad-Eye demanded she come to training completely unmorphed, refusing to continue training until she let her morph drop. When she did, he didn't ask a question, he continued the training as promised, but focused more on wandless self defense that day than he ever had.

It was day seven that she tried to use the self defense taught to her. This left her with a split lip but Tristan left her alone for the rest of the night.

It was day eight when Kingsley Shacklebolt stood in for Mad-Eye for the training, giving her an opportunity to hide behind a morph again. It was day eight that a very angry Mad-Eye appeared on the doorstep of Ted and Andromeda, and told them what he knew.

It was day nine when she missed training due to an argument. It was day nine that she owled in a letter to drop out of training, which Mad-Eye burned immediately before anyone had the chance to file it.

It was day ten that she was awoken by someone banging on the flat door. It was day ten when Ted Tonks lost control of his usual calm approach and blasted the flat door open. It was day ten that he punched a man in the face for the second time of his life. It was day ten that he forcefully brought his daughter home.

* * *

It was four years later when she woke up to someone stroking her hair. She rolled over to look at Remus, who smiled brightly. "Is this your natural?" He asked, running a finger over a lock of her loose hair.

She nodded slowly, her chest tightening in panic, almost waiting. What color would he prefer? Short or long?

"I like it." Remus said quietly, and the tight feeling in her chest vanished.

It was two days later that she married him.


End file.
